History of Europe to 1648

Educational level: this is a tertiary (university) resource.

Category locator: European History Europe Historical Subjects by Area

Completion status: this resource is ~25% complete.

This learning project is under construction. Building started on November 7, 2008
Consensus required. Please, use the 'discussion' tab at the top of the page or talk to Dilos1 before editing pages of this project. Otherwise, your editing may be reversed.

Hello! Welcome to the survey of European History to 1648 course page of the Department of European History at Wikiversity. This is an on going course that you can start anytime you like and complete it anytime you like at your own pace. There are no dates set for the completion of assignments. However, you may communicate with the course leader/instructor Dilos1 at any time and send your questions, completed assignments, suggestions for additional material etc to the wseh group.

Course Leader/Instructor: Dilos1.

Description

This course is the first part of an introduction to the History of Europe. This first part covers the period from the origins of civilization to the Peace of Westphalia that ended the Thirty Years' War.

Rational

This course will provide students with a general background to the History of Europe until the mid 17th century. Those who will complete the course will be able to move on to either the second half of the History of Europe course or to other more advanced courses relating to the Ancient, Medieval and Early Modern times.

Objectives

As a result of taking this course, the student should be able to demonstrate a general knowledge of the history of Europe and European civilization during ancient, medieval, and early modern times.

Course Outline

Introduction

• What is History ?

The Emergence of Civilization

• Ancient Mesopotamia: The Cradle of Civilization
• Ancient Egypt
• The Empires of the Near East

The Greek Legacy

• The Emergence of the Greek Civilization
• Greek Culture and Colonization
• The Greek city
• The Greek Wars
• Classical Greek Culture
• Macedonia and Helenistic Times

The Roman Legacy

• The Rise of Rome and Roman Expansion
• Social Crisis and Change
• Roman Family-life, & Culture
• The End of the Roman Republic
• The Roman Empire and Social Change
• The Decline of Rome
• Rome and Christianity

Medieval Europe

• The Newcomers in Europe
• The Western Church
• The New States
• The Byzantine Empire
• Feudalism and Political Order
• Crisis and Reform in Western Church
• Heresy and the Church in the Mediterranean world
• The Crusades
• The Black Death
• Trade in Medieval Europe
• The Hundred Years War and its Aftermath
• The Papal Crisis
• Servetus

Renaissance and Reformation

• Humanism and Art in Italy
• Scholasticism
• Religious Problems
• Martin Luther and Protestantism
• The Catholics
• Expansion to new worlds
• The New Kings
• The Holy Roman Empire
• Tudor Origins of the British Empire (1485 - 1603)
• Philip II of Spain
• The Thirty Tears War and the Treaty of Westphalia

Course Resources

The reading material includes specific articles from Wikipedia and parts of the textbooks The World History Project, The History of Greece and A Survey of Modern European History from Wikibooks. Also, we will use Wikisource for readings from the sources as well as Wikimedia Commons: for maps, visuals, sounds, music etc. Moreover, we will use a limited number of external sources to enchance our study of the History of Europe. In replacement of the electronic textbooks above, any general book on the development of western civilization may be used.

Students interested in history may wish to obtain one or both of the following printed reference books:

• Sterns, Peter N. Ed. The Encyclopedia of World History. 6th ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2001 and optional CD-ROM.
• The Penguin Atlas of World History. Volume 1: From Prehistory to the Eve of the French Revolution Rev. ed. N. York: Penguin, 2004 or any other modern Historical Atlas.

How to Study

Study the Required Reading at your own pace. When you feel that you have absorbed the material for a specific topic, try to answer the respective Review Question at the end of every course section.

How to Test Yourself

When you have revewed the material of a specific topic, you may answer the Test Yourself questions. If you wish, the Course Leader/Instructor of this course may evaluate the outcome of your effort. Please join the wseh group and e-mail your work for evaluation. You may also request an unofficial grade for the work sent.

Additional Information

The resources under this title complement the reading material and may help you understand better some aspects discussed in the relevant course section. However 'Additional Information' material is not required for the completion of this course.

Further Reading

A suggested bibliography for further reading can be found at the bottom of every course section. It is a list of important books in English that can be hopefully found in almost every college or communal library in the english speaking countries. Otherwise, you may be able to find copies at low prices at AbeBooks or Amazon. In any case, you may also search for books on the same topic at your local library. Further Reading suggestions are not required for the completion of this course.

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Have fun! The study of History is a lot of fun!

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Students who Completed this Course

When you complete this course you may add your login id and/or your name here.

• 1.